School's Out!

My 16th year of teaching is in the books. So hard to believe. It's been another great group of kids, and I will miss them.

 We celebrated reading success with a bounce house and football toss game in the gym.

 And, in the Field Day events, my boys tug team placed SECOND! (We never, EVER do well in that. Way to go, guys!)

A tradition from Pam Green, my dear friend and teaching mentor (I was her student teacher) lives on - the older kids get to throw water balloons at me!

Since I was dressed up for graduation, I wore a trash bag over my clothes.

 A side hit in the calf.

 Of course, there are always enough water balloons for the kids to throw at each other when they're done with me.

 The old "school of fish" safety huddle. (Like that worked - they ALL got wet as a result!)

I didn't get any pictures of 5th grade graduation, unfortunately, or of the 5th grade gauntlet - the entire school lines up in the hallways throughout the building, the office blasts music over the PA, and the fifth graders (and their teachers) run past, high-fiving as they go. Since my class always goes first, that means I lead the gauntlet, so the starting pace is a bit more sedate. (It speeds up behind me as the line spreads out.)

When that's over, it's time to load the buses. And the entire staff comes out to wave off the kiddos for the summer. This is my favorite Hershey tradition.

 That's Lisa in the blue tee shirt with Allyson and Eli Paris. (Eli was in my class.)

 A shot of the buses to the east. Twelve buses serve the Hershey population.

Given the go signal from Mrs. Fields, the buses rev their engines, and the kids are off!

Lisa and I stood together, she with the 4th grade teachers, and me in between 4th and 5th since I teach both grade levels.

I love how many of them are calling to her - she truly made a difference in their lives!

And the last bus goes past, and the teachers cheer another successful year!

Recent Quad Pictures

Due to having been ill and the end of the school year, I haven't really blogged much about the quads and how they are growing. Here are a few pictures, just to start with.

 Cambria and Julie, May, 2014. Love the smile on Julie's face and how she's reaching out to her cousin!

Cole sent me this picture of Julie grinning in her stroller with a message to feel better when I was so sick with cellulitis. Such a happy girl!

Cambria got to meet all her cousins this May. Ian is at the top right, and Whitney the bottom right. (Cambria and Whitney look so much alike in that photo!)

Cambria and Ian meet.

Aunt Jessica rocks Ian to a drowsy state.

Ian and his daddy.

He insists on being held under the arms and facing forward. Here he nods off in that position as Curt rocks him.

 Good night, little man!

Sarah was in Iowa to attend her former students' graduation. Then she made a quick drive to Champaign and met us at a restaurant for lunch so she could meet Ian and Cambria. (My pictures are not very good because I was still sick with cellulitis and did not feel well. The drive wore me out.)

 Andrew shoots a shot of Aunt Sarah and Cambria.

 Paparrazi moment! Jessica leans in for another shot. 

 Finally I could get a clear view and take my picture.

 Proving she's got the chops, Sarah goes the two-baby route.

Isenbarger quads!! Jessica, Sarah, Lisa, and Curt on Memorial Day.

A Memorable Memorial Day

Today I saw a life come full circle, living on in the birth of a baby boy.

Ian met the parents of his namesake this morning.

 This is my favorite picture of the day - Jennifer holding Ian for the first time. It was very poignant.

 Curt, Don, and Ian.

 Jennifer held Ian most of the time we were there.

 She's still got that mama-touch!

 Don laughingly pretended to be a living baby swing. Ian loved it!

Our conversation ranged from reminiscing and laughter to tears flowing freely. Much of what was said is too private and sacred to write here. But having a baby named for their child has deep meaning to Don and Jennifer (they told us that they wept all Easter weekend).

The birth of little Ian seems to have lifted their hearts and helped to heal the scars left by Ian's tragic passing. 

Cellultitis - the Blessing

I have been ill since last Tuesday will cellulitis. I've kept my family updated, but there is a story behind the story that I would like to record as it is very important to me.

Tuesday I woke up and got ready for work. Within an hour I went from, "Hmmm, I feel a bit off," to "I need a sub; I cannot make it today!"

I spent the day in bed, sleeping on and off, going from shaking with chills to sweating and throwing off the covers. I had a headache that felt like my entire head was being squeezed, and a fever of 102. Assuming it was a flu bug I'd picked up from my students, I just kept taking Tylenol and hoping I'd feel better soon.

At 5:30 PM I was in a sweat cycle and tossing off covers. As I kicked them off, I noticed I had a large red patch on my right ankle. It hurt to touch, but I have spots on my legs, arms, neck, and hands that always hurt to touch (my doctor says it's fibromyalgia) so I figured I'd just been lying with my ankles crossed and that had left a mark.

An hour later, the spot was bigger - this was not from my ankle pressing on the other. Lisa outlined it with a pen, and when we looked at it again, it had enlarged beyond the ink boundaries. I thought it was probably cellulitis, having been through that with Craig and Lisa both in the past.

I called my doctor and he had me come in the next morning as soon as his clinic opened. I was right - cellulitis, and he began me on a form of penicillin immediately. He warned that it might take 24 hours for the meds to begin knocking down the infection and that I would probably get worse before I got better.

He was right. The infection began to spread up my leg. It snaked in a fat line all the way up to the top of my thigh. 

 Lisa kept dutifully drawing lines, and there was no doubt that the infection was spreading and growing.

And then I had a highly spiritual experience. Craig had been traveling - observing classes in Fort Wayne and Elkhart. I hadn't seen him much as a result. Thursday morning he got up at 4:00 AM to get ready to drive to Huntington. I was vaguely aware that he was dressed and ready to go when he came around to my side of the bed.

Instead of kissing me goodbye as I expected, he leaned over and firmly said, "I am going to give you a blessing."

Now, that never happens. He always, always, always gives me a blessing, or the kids, or others who ask, whenever he's asked. But he is not one to come tell you he is giving you a blessing.

And that blessing was highly unusual ( Craig rebuked the illness) , with the words coming out in a very strong manner.

Afterward, I was aware that something very spiritual had just occurred. I asked him a "what just happened??" kind of question, and Craig said he'd been strongly impressed the previously night while saying his evening prayers that I needed a blessing and that he should rebuke the illness. The feeling had grown and grown, and so he was determined to give the blessing to me before leaving again.

He told me that he thought I should continue "to work with competent medical care" and that things would be okay.

That morning, a new patch arose with hard red spots of infection.

My doctor sent me to the ER where I was examined and told to continue taking my meds and to come back should anything change. I was in and out in twenty minutes, and the ER doctor never even looked at the the back of my leg.

Later that afternoon, my own doctor's nurse called. The ER physician had not communicated much in his notes and they were concerned and wondering how I was. After hearing that I was feeling somewhat better and that the infection seemed less red, they asked me to come in again the next morning so he could check my leg. 

(I later learned that my experience at the ER is not an isolated one; several physician friends as well as my own expressed concern to me about the new ER doctors and how patients are being treated. Dr. Emert, an ER physician and the mom of one of my kiddos, said she resigned from that ER as she was so concerned about the quality of care.)

Friday morning, the newest patch on the back of my leg was an angry red, hot, and the red bumps hurt to be touched. Dr. Morris was pleased with the other parts of the infection and how it was responding, but this was a concern. And, with Memorial Day and a three day weekend coming, he would be out of the office and medical care harder to get. 

So, he put a plan of care in place, just in case I should get sicker instead of better over the weekend. I knew what to look for and who to call if it happened or if I simply had concerns and needed to talk. That was very reassuring.

It's Monday morning, and while I am still tired, most of the redness is gone. The back red patch is fading, and everywhere there was infection ITCHES. But after all this illness has been, I can handle the itching!

And I am very grateful to the Lord for prompting Craig, and to Craig for rebuking the infection and helping me to become well again.

We're Part of the GART

Our home is a stop on Jessica and Andrew's GART (Great American Road Trip) this year. While Andrew is in between a semester and an internship, they've been driving around the south and midwest to see family in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Illinois, and Indiana.

(photo collage by Andrew)

Cambria has met Julie (left), Ian (top), and Whitney (bottom.)

It's fun to see her with her quad cousins; I can't wait until July when they're all here together!

The New Brandi Chastain

(Seriously, Emily and Cole?! Wait a few days?? I am a FAN!)

Ella was traded this spring by the Chicago Red Stars. I was heartsick to see her go, and I think the team has paid a price in her loss - she was their most popular player and brought in tons of fans and spectators through the box office.

Her new team is the Houston Dash, an expansion team in the National Women's Soccer League, and already she has charmed the Houston folks.

 Fans hold up signs for her...

 ... and she attends signing parties and signs autographs for her fans.

 Ella always plays hard and never, ever gives less than her best.

 Yesterday she met her former team on the field in their first game against each other. Ever.

 Typical Ella - challenging two defenders for the ball!

I would imagine it hurt a bit to be traded away from her former team, so when she scored a goal on them,

 Ella pulled a Brandi Chastain in celebration.

The ref gave her a yellow card for it, but he was smiling. 

The Red Stars answered with a goal of their own and ended up winning the game. Drat!

You'll get them next time, Ella. In the meantime, count me in as a Houston Dash fan!

Beach Party Shindig!!

School ends next Friday, and the celebrations are beginning. In response to that, and to my recent dinner appointment at the DeWoodys where party crashers were told (kindly) to have their own party if they wanted to see me (see blog entry here), I've been invited to a pool party at the Blanchard home.

Twenty some former students.

All high schoolers now.

And me.

Partying like this:

 Roasting hotdogs over an open fire. 

 Dancing with towels around the pool's perimeter.

Lounging and working on our tans. (That would be me in the middle - orange swimsuit, of course!)

Sounds like so much fun, until you remember that the reality for me is more like this:

Er, I'm the lady on the left, not the right. (Orange suit again.)

Seriously, while it may not be a true 60s Annette-style shindig...

... and there is NO WAY I am wearing a swimsuit and jumping into the water with my former students (they're going to be juniors and seniors at Harrison next year! Where has time gone??)...

I am going to go, maybe make a Texas sheet cake for them, and even bring some of the Einstein pencils I used to give out to them when they were multiagers and with me all those years ago.

Fear of baring my body in a swimsuit aside, I really would love to see them all again.

The Reaction Art Museum

(Warning - photo intensive!)

Last Friday, my class presented their art in our class Reaction Art Museum. The creations of the students more than lived up to my hopes.

After a semester of studying about conflict on a global, national, community, and personal level (a great way to teach history and geography as well as social concepts) we discussed how some of our greatest works of art, music, and literature have come as a direct result of conflict (think of Picasso's Guernica, Francis Scott Key's The Star Spangled Banner, and Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin for some examples.)

Then, I asked them to think about the conflicts we had studied, conflicts they have experienced, etc. and to create a work of art that represents their feelings. I invited the art teacher to come give them some insight into how to go about this project by teaching them ways of expressing themselves and mediums to use, and then I gave the kids three weeks to work.

Friday I went to school early so the children could come to class ahead of the bell and get set up. We would be open all day and not have much time to get things into place.

At 9:45 we threw open our door and the people began pouring in!

KR did a tug of war between continents over religion, racism, and other outrages. She also had a rope so kids could tug and see what that meant and felt like.

 We were busy and on our feet the whole day as class after class walked through the exhibits.

ZR did my favorite piece. It is deceptively simple, but does it pack a punch!

He's taken the Major League Baseball logo and switched it around a bit for a commentary on war. The batter is a soldier, the bat a gun, and the baseball a bullet. I heard comments all day about that one!

 Miss I. (in yellow by door) came in with her students! Here she looks at EM's portrayal of The Battle of Tippecanoe.

EP recreated the bombing of Pearl Harbor completely with origami - a nice tie in to Japanese art! He even suspended origami planes and bombs from the ceiling, and burned the edges of a few pieces to make it look like damage from the battle. Our school nurse cried when she looked at it. Later she confided that her uncle had gone down with the U.S.S. Arizona. All that her family got back was his wallet which floated to the surface of the sea. Nothing else was ever recovered.

(Several of the adults cried as they looked at the kids' exhibits. TC's mom actually took refuge behind my desk for a while as the tears were streaming down her face and she needed time to get control of her emotions.)

 JO's artwork drew a crowd all day.

It was a 3D pentagon-shaped piece suspended from the ceiling with drawings of the 911 Twin Towers on each panel. 

 FR also did the twin towers...

 ... as did LT...

 ... and LW (doesn't he look snazzy in his suit!)...

...JR...

... and TC!

AM did another scene from that dreadful day...

... Flight 93, which crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.

(Many adults commented on the number of 911 reaction pieces - these kids weren't even born when the event happened. But WE still react and talk about it, and are clearly keeping it alive and real in the eyes of our children.)

We also had literature. Here, JB displays a high quality poem he wrote about the sinking of the Titanic. 

(He was able to explain to me why that historical event could be construed as a conflict, so I okayed it as a project.)

AD wrote several poems about having been bullied and how it changed her perspective so that she never wanted to treat someone the way she had been treated.

 SY wrote a concrete poem and made it 3D! So cool! It is about the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Passionate about racism because she has black cousins, PH made a unique folded paper rendition of the cabin from Uncle Tom's Cabin with each color representative of something related to slavery and racism. It was AMAZING!

(She hasn't read the book yet, nor would I advise her to until she is much older, but we have discussed it and how Harriet Beecher Stowe aided the end of slavery in America through her book.)

SS did the Civil War. (Another snazzy looking guy - I was so pleased that so many of them dressed for the occasion!)

There is nothing NC loves more than a project (she even did an EXTRA classic project and presentation - even though she didn't receive a grade for it!) Her reaction artwork continued off the table and onto the music stand, linking several conflicts together.

 AM did a black and white collage about conflicts all over the globe. I really liked his!

 LG had one of the more unusual ones.

Two hands painted symbolically, holding a heart, and nestled on a heart shaped pillow.

KO depicted a very recent event - the bombing of The Boston Marathon. She focused on the elderly man who was running and knocked down by the blast concussion, a scene that was shown over and over and over on the news broadcasts. She recreated his runner's number and made a collage of pictures about him.

Craig came! Even though he'd spent most of the day at his cousin's funeral. Such a sweetie.

 Here he looks at AS's globes that represent the effects of global warming and environmental damage.

By 3:15, we were all worn out. AP, also in a suit, sits by his 911 sketch while the other kids grab a quick break, too. KO had been complaining that her dress shoes were giving her blisters and so she kicked them off.

I missed getting pictures of TM's four-panel work on changing the world, LM and AS's dioramas on 911, WS's cool poster on the humane treatment of animals, and BW's huge piece about forest fires. I thought I had everyone's artwork photographed, and didn't discover that I'd missed a few until it was too late. Drat!

This was our fourth Reaction Art Museum, and I had never tracked the number of those who came to see our exhibits. I did this time, and to my astonishment, 534 students, teachers, parents, and other adults took the tour! We even had people come from Cincinnati, Ohio and Decatur, Illinois, and probably others from out of state of whom I was not aware. 

Wow! No wonder we were all exhausted!